Thursday, February 17, 2011

I’m not surprised by finding blood in odd places. I know that must sound weird to people who don’t live with diabetes, but to those of us who do it’s pretty inevitable. All those finger sticks are bound to leave traces behind now and then. A dab on my white shirt. A spotlet on the couch cushion. A tiny drop on the bedspread.

Today as I laced up my shoes for my workout, I noticed something on the floor. A few tiny drips of blood. I was a bit confused at first.

21 comments:

Since I switched to a touchscreen phone a few years ago, I often find little red smudges on the screen. Nothing an alcohol swab can't fix. Also the car steering wheel, radio buttons, and the computer keyboard are common blood spatter magnets. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty much a walking biohazard. o_O

The worst place I have left a smudge was on the page of a book that I borrowed from a friend...signed by the author...oops! At least the friend understood and was totally fine (or at least that is what I was told !)

Just this past weekend, I accidentally left a blood streak across my face after a BS test finger that didn't stop bleeding as quickly as it should've. It wouldn't have been that bad, except I was at a meeting and didn't know it was there.

I have to share a story. My neighbor used to teach delayed kids at the high school level. After discussing with the girls only crowd, thought on having your period, she asked, So how will you know when you get your period

one sweet girl( very exicted )answered: When there is blood on your shoes!!!

With three young T1's, our station where we check bg's often looks like a crime scene. I have to keep disinfecting wipes next to the test strips. But since their bedrooms are right next to the station, I'm always wiping down the door jams. It is like they HAVE to put their hands on the walls after they check their sugar! :)

I leave mine on my glasses/case a lot, and on all my homework and exam papers. It can cause some of my teachers a lot of confusion (is this kid dying? Why is there blood on her paper?!). On the switch for my bedside lamp there is usually a splodge or two, from pre-bedtime/ early morning checks.

so this is kinda unrelated, but bloody all the same. it always makes me laugh and makes me sad to see blood explode out of multiple places on a finger on a day i have tested extra times and put extra wear and tear on those poor finger tips. all the sudden there is blood spraying out of random pokes that hadn't closed up quite enough and i look like a pin cushion only the pins are blood. the fun part is trying to find all the blood drops that sprayed across the room.

oh, and then there is the whole test strips EVERYWHERE issue. i can't be the only one to just leave the strips in the glucometer case until they stack up a bit. in the meantime i leave a trail of test strips across the house, in my purse, in the car, at work, i find them everywhere!

I Am . . .

Karen Graffeo

I'm a Knitter living with Type 1 Diabetes. I'm not a medical professional nor am I giving medical advice - I'm just a girl sharing my personal thoughts and experiences with diabetes. I live in New England with my wonderful husband, my adorable cat, and lots and lots of yarn.